LA/DLR Combo Trip Logistics: Transportation Questions

[nancy drew]

We are headed to Los Angeles and DLR this summer, and I am trying to figure out the logistics of our trip. The original plan was to fly in to LAX, rent a car, drive to our Hollywood area hotel, do LA things, drive to DLR, return the car, enjoy DLR, and take a shuttle to SNA to fly home.

However, in my brief search it looks like the car rental is going to be about $200 if we return it in SNA, and $150 if we return it to LAX. We could then hop on a shuttle to DLR.

I hate driving in unfamiliar areas, since I am the only adult traveling so I can't ask someone to watch out for signs or exits. So returning the car to LAX and taking a shuttle seems to make sense, but is that silly?

We might be able to not use a car at all, if we use shuttles and/or taxis and/or subway in LA. I think the cost would work out to be similar (car rental, gas, parking at the hotel, parking at our destinations). Has anyone done LA and DLR without a car and has advice to share?

 

[ParkHopper1]

California is VERY car-centric and public transpiration blows. Your initial plan is the way to go. You will spend WAY more than the $50 you will save plus it will take a LOT more time to return the car to LAX and shuttle to DL.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

Do NOT take taxis or the subway. Seriously. It's very unpleasant. Unless it's just a quick jaunt (like the Hollywood-Vine stop to Universal or something). The shuttle to DL would work out fine, but you'll probably regret the rest of it without a car. Hmmm...Do you have experience driving in cities? LA traffic sucks. But I still vote to get the car, at least for the L.A. part of the trip.

 

[NewbieMouse]

It's worth the $50 to just keep the car, IMHO. And you will need the car for the non-DLR portion.

 

[GenGen22]

When I am the one to drive in an area that I am unfamiliar with & it has bad traffic like LA or San Francisco I prefer to take shuttles. With that said every time me & my daughter come alone to DL we take super shuttle to & from our hotel to the airport. We use the hotel shuttle to the park or ART or park near the toy story parking lot so I don't have to drive. I think its safer for me & others on the road when I'm nervous & trying to find my way around and may cause an accident. So for me its worth the cost.

 

[Epek]

I think it'll cost you more than $50 to take a shuttle from LAX to the DLR. Plus, time. You have to return your car, take the shuttle to the airport, hang out there until the shuttle to DLR arrives. The ease of getting yourself there is worth it, IMO. Also, you need a car for the LA portion. We are not a public transportation city. There is plenty of it, but it doesn't make it easy to get around.

 

[nancy drew]

Do NOT take taxis or the subway. Seriously. It's very unpleasant. Unless it's just a quick jaunt (like the Hollywood-Vine stop to Universal or something). The shuttle to DL would work out fine, but you'll probably regret the rest of it without a car. Hmmm...Do you have experience driving in cities? LA traffic sucks. But I still vote to get the car, at least for the L.A. part of the trip.

LOL, I live in downtown Chicago (I know you didn't know that, it just made me laugh a bit) so yes, I have experience driving in cities. But I've lived here all of my life and I know my way around. I don't know anything about driving in LA.

Maybe I should be more specific about our itinerary. We will be staying in Hollywood, near the Walk of Fame/Chinese Theater. We plan on seeing that area, going to WB Studios, and maybe Universal and/or the California Science Museum (I know that isn't what it is called, I can't remember the name now). Those are really probably all we will see, as we are only there 2.5 days. DD wants to see Beverly Hills, but I'm just not comfortable with that much unassisted driving. I had contemplated getting us a Trolley pass or something, so we could see more, but I'm not sure it would take us to all of the places we want to go.

So do we still need a car?

 

[elmoandzoey]

The WB Studios are out in Burbank, not in Hollywood. I don't think you can get there without a car.

 

[SMD]

Google Maps has a public transportation search you can use to see how long it will take to get from your hotel to other sites. Taxis will add up quick. You could try Uber or Lyft but I don't know that I'd want to rely so heavily on those. Look into the hop on, hop off buses if you just want to drive through Beverly Hills. They have stops at Hollywood & Highland/Chinese Theater.

Without Universal you've described about a day and a half worth of stuff to do. Being up in Hollywood might get a little boring, honestly. Try pricing a car for the whole trip. If you can get a weekly rate it might be worth keeping it for the DLR portion of the trip and it might make up for some of the drop off fee. But $50 extra for a one way rental isn't that bad. Just taking a shuttle or taxi to Hollywood, then to DLR and to SNA will exceed $200 for 2 people. Then start adding in taxis and it gets expensive real quick.

 

[sheetz]

Universal Studios and the California Science Center are easy to get to from Hollywood by train. For Warner Bros I think you could use Uber and it would not be expensive.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

LOL, I live in downtown Chicago (I know you didn't know that, it just made me laugh a bit) so yes, I have experience driving in cities. But I've lived here all of my life and I know my way around. I don't know anything about driving in LA.

Maybe I should be more specific about our itinerary. We will be staying in Hollywood, near the Walk of Fame/Chinese Theater. We plan on seeing that area, going to WB Studios, and maybe Universal and/or the California Science Museum (I know that isn't what it is called, I can't remember the name now). Those are really probably all we will see, as we are only there 2.5 days. DD wants to see Beverly Hills, but I'm just not comfortable with that much unassisted driving. I had contemplated getting us a Trolley pass or something, so we could see more, but I'm not sure it would take us to all of the places we want to go.

So do we still need a car?

We just did a similar trip. We stayed at the Loews Hollywood Hotel, which is right near where you describe staying. We did have a car the whole time because we also did the San Diego area, but we only used it twice during our couple of days in Hollywood - once to get to Paramount Studios for a tour and once to drive into Beverly Hills. We did a Starline Tour the afternoon we arrived - it was a nice easy thing to do after traveling all day from the East coast. I mention it because you said you were concerned about driving into Beverly Hills. The tour we took (celebrity homes) went into the neighborhoods in Beverly Hills as well as down Rodeo Dr. and past some other landmarks. Although it was billed as celebrity homes, it included other landmarks around Hollywood as well and some great views up from Mullholland Dr. The tour was a little pricey but it included free tix into the wax museum, which we hadn't planned to do but did because it was free . They have ticket kiosks all over that area and their main stand is at the Chinese Theater. The only thing with that particular tour is it's not a hop on hop off - that's why we went back the next day with the car to walk around BH a bit more. Good luck!

 

[spellhex]

Universal Studios and the California Science Center are easy to get to from Hollywood by train. For Warner Bros I think you could use Uber and it would not be expensive.

Though the California Science Center is right on the Red Line, it's also not in the greatest of areas (South Central LA). Which means public transit is a little more sketchy.

Also, the Science Center is the opposite direction of everywhere else you're looking at. It's a cool place and has the space shuttle, but every other attraction you're looking at (sans Disneyland) is north LA/Burbank.

 

[SMD]

Though the California Science Center is right on the Red Line, it's also not in the greatest of areas (South Central LA). Which means public transit is a little more sketchy.

Also, the Science Center is the opposite direction of everywhere else you're looking at. It's a cool place and has the space shuttle, but every other attraction you're looking at (sans Disneyland) is north LA/Burbank.

It's not on the red line, you'd have to transfer to the expo line. The station is right between the Natural History Museum/Science Center and USC. During the day on a week day you'd spend less than a minute on the sidewalk before entering the museum grounds, mostly surrounded by students and summer camp outings. I think it's a pretty safe time to go.

 

[Epek]

I am from the Chicago suburbs, and very familiar with the El and what Chicago has to offer in terms of public transportation. In my 10years living here in LA, I have used the Metro 2-3times. It pales in comparison. That said, what you want to do can be done reasonably with a mix of the metro, bus tours and taxis. You could take the Metro to Universal the Science Center. You could get a tour from any of the companies on Hollywood blvd to go to Beverly Hills. You could cab it to WB, or metro to Universal, then cab which might be cheaper. The problem would be then getting to Anaheim. I think the cost of transportation to Anaheim plus one of those tours alone would probably be more than a car. Traffic is quite similar to Chicago, so don't be wary of that. The only trouble I had moving here was the Freeways (expressways to you) are wider. They have more lanes. That took some betting used to. Everywhere you want to go is pretty straightforward. So it wouldn't be that hard. Parking can be a huge pain, but it is in Chicago, too.

 

[LisaT91403]

I've lived in LA my whole life. As others have said, it is a car-centric city. If you are comfortable driving in Chicago, I think you'll be fine here. Do you have the Waze app on your phone? That's what I personally use to get around LA all the time...even just dropping my son off at school each day. With real-time traffic, it really is great because you not only don't get lost, but you get to your destination the fastest way possible.

Having a car will also give you the freedom to come and go as you please, go to dinner, etc.

I say stick with your original plan, pay the extra $50, and use Waze.

 

[spellhex]

It's not on the red line, you'd have to transfer to the expo line. The station is right between the Natural History Museum/Science Center and USC. During the day on a week day you'd spend less than a minute on the sidewalk before entering the museum grounds, mostly surrounded by students and summer camp outings. I think it's a pretty safe time to go.

Whoops, that's right. It's been a while since I lived around there.

And I wasn't just referencing the area immediately around the Science Center/USC, but the fact that since it is in a sketchier area overall, there will be sketchier people on the train. I took public transit around that area, and the buses and trains didn't have the most family-friendly atmosphere. But yes, I was probably overstating how "unsafe" the area is. My bad.